“Taking Action from Our True Self” is the fifth and final post in a series on the “Pillars of Spiritual Wellness.” Read the first post here.
In previous weeks, we’ve looked at four key pillars of spiritual wellness—awareness, attention, affection, and acceptance. Each of these has to do with an internal perspective or discipline. Each relates to a way that we perceive God, ourselves, others, and the world around us. With the fifth and final pillar, we shift to an external focus—taking action to make a difference in the world around us.
Now, taking action is listed as the final pillar, not because we should wait for some perfect moment to begin putting our faith into practice. But it’s important to recognize that everything we do flows from who we are. Spiritually healthy actions flow from spiritually healthy individuals. Spiritually unwell individuals will often do more damage than good.
In my last blog post, I introduced the idea of a false self or fig-leaf self. This false self is a fabricated persona that we project to the world. It is not indicative of who we truly are. Rather, it’s how we want others to perceive us. This façade finds support in a variety of attitudes and behaviors that we adopt to protect and reinforce this fake image.
Actions that flow from our false self typically are motivated by a generous amount of self-interest, even if it’s well-hidden. When we’re driven by the desire to project a certain image of ourselves, we are not being driven primarily by our love for God or love for our neighbors.
The problem is that making a decision to follow Christ doesn’t automatically dismantle our false self. We may be true followers of Christ, while still clinging to false ways of understanding ourselves and relating to the world around us. It is not easy to recognize the false self, much less leave it behind. This is what the apostle Paul described in Romans 7:
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 7:21–25; NIV).
Paul testified that, even though he was following Christ and desired to do what was right, many times, his false self still prevented him from doing the right thing. He was still “a prisoner,” and would be, until Christ released him from “this body that is subject to death.” Paul further described what needed to happen in Ephesians 4:
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22–24; NIV).
This “putting off” your old self and putting on the new is the task of spiritual wellness. Too often, Christians have operated under the assumption that this happens automatically when one comes to Christ. Or, we think that it’s as simple as choosing to do the right thing instead of the wrong thing. No, what Paul described takes place on a much deeper level. It requires time, insight, and effort to implement.
I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that the scandals that have befallen the Church have all been due to leaders who sought to do great things for Christ before having adequately dealt with their shadow side—the fig-leaf self. When we as Christians rush ahead to take action, before working the process of putting off our old selves, we can end up doing more damage than good for the cause of Christ. And the more spiritual responsibility we have assumed when the “fall” comes, the greater the damage will be.
So, action is important. It is essential. There is much work to be done in the name of Christ. Yet, there is nothing so urgent that Christ needs us to rush people—ourselves included—into service before they’re ready.
Early on, we should be extremely cautious—with ourselves and with others—in what kind of spiritual responsibility we lay on a person, even if they seem to be extraordinarily gifted. Gifts are useful, but character is essential. We must not be so blinded by a person’s gifts that we fail to see when they are still living out of a false sense of self. We must allow people time to mature, before we burden them with too much spiritual responsibility.
That’s why “Taking Action” is the final pillar of spiritual wellness. It is so important that it’s worth getting right. And right action always flows, not from the false self, but from the true self.